Jacqueline Townsend
Jacqueline Townsend (January 2, 3374 - April 9, 3473) was a Dranian politician of the right-wing Grand National Party and incumbent MP for Valdor. From 3414 to 3425, under Prime Ministers Margaret Woodhall and Adrienne LeCoultre-Overstraten, she was Interior Minister. After taking a step back between 3425 and 3429, she became Prime Minister of Dranland in February 3429 after the GNP had scored a decisive election victory. In 3456, she was elected President. Early Life Born in Valdor, Dranland's most left-wing and economically weakest region, Jacqueline Townsend's parents were both teachers and trade unionists, politically close to the likes of PAC and formerly Unity. Despite their leftist leanings, they were also devout Hosians, a faith which she adopted and learned to embrace quickly as a child. After graduating from a Hosian private school in 3392, she studied law at the University of Santa Sharika between 3392 and 3397. Subsequently, she worked as a lawyer for various security companies, while also serving as a security advisor to the rightist CNP-GNP administration that governed Valdor during that time. When the elections were lost in 3397, she lost her advisor post and switched back to her lawyer job again. Occasionally, however, she would still engage in political agitation, publishing articles in favor of strict law-and-order policies like those advocated by Elaine Duvalle. Initially leaning towards the more conservative CNP, Townsend agreed to run for a parliamentary seat on a GNP ticket in the 3402 elections, which she won as one of the few GNP candidates in Valdor. Soon, she became one of her party's foremost security lawmakers, supporting more powers for the police, but also opposing curfews and defending liberal gun laws. Interior Minister As Interior Minister, she gained fame during the Valdor crisis in the late 3410s and early 3420s, when she, together with Defence Minister Geoffrey Fox, coordinated efforts to disarm the Sons of Jalal sect and end their occupation of thrre Valdorian towns, which she tried to accomplish through evacuating citizens and blocking supply roads. When riots between several radical groups broke out in Valdor, the government intervened by banning their respective political arms and subsequently sending the police to the Province to clear up the remnants of the conflict. In Opposition When the GNP was crushed in the 3425 elections and a left-leaning government took over, Townsend was replaced as Interior Minister but remained her party's spokeswoman in that field. In opposition, she criticized plans of Prime Minister Cadfael Maddocks to abolish lethal weapons for police officers apart from specially trained units, which she claimed would decrease the quality of national security. Prime Minister After the elections of 3428, which were won by the GNP under the leadership of Craig Warwick, Townsend became Prime Minister in a four-way right-wing coalition, since most other frontbench GNP politicians were deemed to inexperienced, while the former Interior Minister boasted lots of experience. Thus, she was sworn in on February 1, 3429. As Prime Minister, she proposed a controversial bill named the Tough on Crime Act, which came under fire from all other parties as it proposed to force prisoners to work during the day while also restricting their right to vote after being released from jail. Green leader Florence McCormick even went as far as to accuse Townsend of wanting to re-introduce slavery. Even though she did pursue a strict law-and-order course, she opposed stricter regulation on alcohol, drugs or the viewing of movies as proposed by the DSP. She also proposed the legalization of private gated communities and a repeal of the ban on private ownership of guns. During her second tenure, she came under fire for proposing to oblige prisoners to do compulsory work during the day, which generated mixed responses but also harsh criticism. Greens of Dranland leader Florence McCormick even accused her of wanting to introduce slavery like in Dolgava and Kalopia through this reform. Townsend was also criticized by the DSP when she called socialists "patrons of criminals" for opposing some of her "Law and Order" bills. Even though her proposed toughening of crime laws did not pass, her government managed to vote down controversial proposals of the left-wing parties, such as to partially nationalize the banking and energy sector. When Julian Hellfritzsch, a Hulstrian envoy to Dranland, issued an ill-considered remark saying that Kyo people were "inbred", a huge controversy ensued that turned violent in the form of minor and medium-scale riots when comedian Matt Dougherty mocked the protesters on live TV. At the peak of the uproar, moderate Kyo leader and former Defence Minister Kojiro Machimura was shot dead, which was condemned by all parties. His assassin, a radical Kyo nationalist, was later arrested and prosecuted. The Prime Minister was criticized for refusing to dismiss Hellfritzsch later on, but defended herself by saying that blaming a scapegoat would not resolve the deeper causes or the crisis. Ahead of the 3434 elections, Townsend sought to portray her as a tough law-and-order politician on the one hand and a champion of permissive civil rights on the other, promising to legalize private gun ownership and to abolish eminent domain. Despite the controversy over her alleged indecisiveness over the Hellfritzsch case, she won the elections triumphantly with over 30% of the vote, a gain of eight percentage points. Following the surprisingly clear victory of Jacqueline Townsend, conservative commentators have heaped praise over her, with Jessica Trevor writing in the Dranish Conservative Magazine that "Townsend incorporates the rebirth of Dranish conservatism, in combination with libertarian anti-statism, which is the recipe for an agenda that appeals to rural, conservative middle class-voters and urban, wealthy libertarians alike". Victór Marquis, columnist at the right-liberal Ulbrach newspaper Libertad Republicana, even compared "Jackie" Townsend to "Maggie" Woodhall, pointing out "their talent to keep the libertarian and conservative wing of the GNP together" and "the fact that they both prevailed at the polls during a time of crisis". Other pundits, however, have rejected this comparison, arguing that "Townsend is popular because she presides over politics rather than to govern, making her less vulnerable to political bickering. Woodhall, in contrast, never refrained from a war of wards with the opposition." After the elections, GNP and PP went on to propose bills aimed at liberalizing the sale of alcohol, restrict the rights of unions and abolish eminent domain. With the help of the Greens of Dranland, they also managed to legalize gated communities. Despite the ongoing ethnic tensions, it soon appeared as if the Townsend administration had managed to consolidate the country's security situation, even though this didn't last long as Green leader Florence McCormick was killed by an unknown assassin when her car went up in flames. Ahead of the 3437 elections, Townsend ran a temperate campaign but sharply attacked socialist leader Antonio Benandez when he proposed a 100% inheritance tax. At a rally in Iglesia Mayor, she delivered a stinging tirade against the proposal and the DSP family policies in general: "They hate the family as an autonomous unit of society, they believe that children are the property of the state and that government bureaucrats should be in charge of their upbringing, because they do not trust parents, which they have demonstrated over and over again with their proposals to regulate the content of games and movies, ban religious schools and thus interfere with free school choice", she told several hundred cheering supporters. "Now the left, in their greed for the assets of the people which they want to redistribute to their cronies, they are out for your houses and fortune that you have saved up to pass them on to your children one day and that you have acquired through countless years of working. They believe that the state has a right to determine how to use these assets rather than those who they rightfully belong to. Benandez will steal your houses and money, and he will do everything to destroy the traditional family, because it is a bulwark against his final goal of establishing a communist regime." Townsend's popularity rates began to soar shortly before the elections, which subsequently became a landslide victory for the GNP, which won over 43% of the popular vote and managed to acquire a parliamentary majority together with its traditional ally, the Popular Party of Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Rajoy. Townsend herself was modest in the light of the historic victory, only saying that "our common-sense, consequently freedom-minded and economically sound agenda was the decisive factor in this election, and I wish to thank the people for allowing me to lead this great nation for another four years". Analysts, however, suggested that the stunning GNP result was indeed connected to Townsend's personal popularity, or, as the Dranish Conservative Magazine put it: "Townsend, or at least her political agenda, incorporates the heart and soul of Dranish mentality, combining awareness for tradition and conservative values with cosmopolitan, urban liberalism. She successfully completed the mission of establishing the GNP as a broad right-wing catch-all party that has now emerged as the unchallenged herald of rightist thought in Dranland, which is mirrored by the downfall of the PP and that of the PPC." Despite successes in cracking down on terrorism and securing the streets which had erupted in riots and racially motivated assaults, Townsend's administration was soon shocked by a major scandal when Elina Cadiavera, the Minister for Trade and Industry, admitted to having had a sexual relationship with Benji Benandez, the son of the socialist opposition leader. A funding scandal in connection with this case led to the resignation of Cadiavera and Caroline Glennstone, the Ecology Minister, alongside several MPs who had blackmailed the Minister and funneled public money into their private bank accounts. Townsend remained popular but decided to resign before her premiership's legacy could be damaged by the scandals, leaving her position to the Interior Minister, Craig Warwick, despite favoring Julia Breckinridge. She then switched to the backbenches. Returning to the frontbench at the request of her friend Breckinridge, now GNP Chairwoman, she became GNP defence spokeswoman in 3445 and in that position spoke out against allegedly discriminating acts against homosexual and women soldiers. Townsend became Defence Minister in the Hargreaves administration which governed Dranland between 3450 and 3452 and caused large controversies over its radical austerity course which clipped spending by 40%. The military was targeted especially harshly, seeing their funding slashed in half. The cuts were later reversed and the Hagreaves administration collapsed. After the snap polls Townsend returned to her position as spokeswoman and MP, but vacated both in 3455, which was interpreted as a preparation for an ensuing run for President. Townsend indeed ran in the snap polls of 3455 and prevailed over LoL candidate Juana Sucre with 58% of the vote in the runoff. When another early election was called on year later, she won 62% in a rematch. Townsend died on April 9, 3473, aged 99 in her mansion in Luz de la Mar. Julia Breckinridge, her long-time companion, told the public the following: "Jackie was the most defining politician of the past decades, and was the unchallenged Grande Dame of the GNP, towering above all others with her political instinct, intellect and unwavering hard-nosedness. But, above all, she was my best friend throughout many turbulent decades and assisted me incessantly with her knowledge and experience on my path path towards the premiership. May she rest in peace." Her successor as Prime Minister, Craig Warwick, had this to say: "Mrs. Townsend was without a doubt the main architect of the grand libertarian era between 3427 and 3442, and the Dranish, including myself, owe her a lot. She was truly a defender of civil rights and economic freedom, while also upholding a strict law and order regime." Townsend was granted a state funeral at the initiative of conservative politicians such as Rafael Duvalle (DCP), but there was also negative reception of her legacy. Left-winger Emma Olsen said: "She was to put in frankly, an authoritarian and anti-Kyo sadist. That woman caused great suffering in Valdor during the crisis, persecuting the good Sons for their just cause. Her economic policies sought to take Dranland back to feudalism. Our clueless PM praises a woman who obviously hated Kyos. Kyo should drop the KSDP and find a more serious representative party in the SJP. I hope it hurts as you burn in Selucian hell, Jac...um you." Breckinridge and her party defended her from Olsen's attacks, but controversy surrounding the state funeral continued. Meanwhile, Governor Constance Woodhall of Magadonia proposed erecting a statue of Townsend in front of Magadonian Parliament.